Tourists visit and take photos next to street art murals painted on the walls and architecture inside the seaside town during the International Cultural Festival, Asilah, Northern Morocco, 2015-08-11.

Asilah is a sleepy fishing town in the North of Morocco, just one hour south of Tangier. While not completely off Morocco’s well-beaten path, it’s often missed by travellers bound inland for Fez or Chefchaouen, yet has a uniquely alluring charm. With an immaculately restored medina that’s re-painted vivid shades of blue & white each summer, Asilah has the feel of being Morocco’s own Santorini - a great spot to see the more chilled out, seaside town life in Morocco.

Asilah is synonymous with art and the peaceful seaside town is home to over 50 resident artists. It is packed full of art galleries, studios and exhibition spaces with artists from around the country selling their work. Each summer, the town invites artists from across the globe to visit and take part in an annual arts festival. The festival begins in July and commences by the artists and locals re-painting the medina. They purposefully leave large spaces of the medina walls white-washed blank, ready for artists to create and design new murals and street art during the festival. Artwork can be found everywhere, including sketches and engravings etched onto doorways and walls by children. Large sections are even allocated for children to paint their own ideas and fun workshops are held encouraging children to work together and help paint new murals onto the walls. This is actually how Asilah began its synonymous relationship with art. In 1978 seven Moroccan artists were invited to the town to hold art classes for children, inviting them to draw on the walls of the medina. The festival goes on for a number of weeks showcasing a range of artistic disciplines, from music and poetry to performance and painting, and everything inbetween. Its mark is left on the town for the remainder of the year, as